Source: Seattle Times
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office is once again ensnared in scandal after police arrested two of his close associates this week on suspicion of accepting money from Qatar to promote a positive image of the Gulf Arab state in Israel. The affair has gripped Israelis because Qatar, a country that many view as a patron of Hamas, and which has no formal diplomatic ties to Israel, appears to have penetrated the highest corridors of power. Qatar, which is a key mediator for Hamas in its ceasefire negotiations with Israel, denies backing the militant group. Netanyahu has given a statement to police on the matter but is not a suspect in the case, which he says is baseless and meant to topple his rule.” 904/02/25)
https://archive.is/hgMvC
Source: Reason
“Batya Ungar-Sargon: The Case for MAGA Leftism.” (04/02/25)
https://reason.com/podcast/2025/04/02/batya-ungar-sargon-the-case-for-maga-leftism/
Source: Persuasion
by Ben Cohen
“I understand the anger many feel toward Musk. He’s become a symbol of everything broken in corporate capitalism — a billionaire who uses his wealth to dismantle public institutions while enriching himself. His flirtation with authoritarian politics, alliance with Donald Trump, and near-constant stream of conspiratorial rhetoric on X have only deepened the sense that he’s actively working against democracy. … It is easy to see why the rage has boiled over into real world acts of vandalism and violence. How else do you hit back at the world’s richest man? But the destruction of private propert — —and the physical threats now facing ordinary Tesla owners — reflects something deeper and more troubling in segments of left-wing activism.” (04/02/25)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/theres-noting-righteous-about-vandalizing
Source: Liberal Currents
by Adam Gurri
“Millbank is the latest Big Law firm to make a deal with Trump in response to an executive order targeting their business. This brings the current count to four, with many more accommodating the administration’s whims in big ways and small. Trump is doing battle daily with federal judges, but they, at least, have a somewhat secure institutional perch that they exercise their authority from—in as much as any institution is secure these days. But while some firms are trying to hold the line, most have bandwagoned into a position of accommodation. … If we’re to have any legal system to speak of come 2026, we need to stop these firms from bandwagoning now. State bars have the power to make this happen by threatening any prospective defectors. If you are a lawyer yourself, please consider raising this issue with your state bar as soon as possible.” 904/02/25)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/state-bars-need-to-stop-the-bleeding/
Source: US News & World Report
“Turkish police have detained 11 people as part of an investigation into social media calls for an economic boycott backed by the opposition following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, state media reported on Thursday. Prosecutors launched the probe on Tuesday, saying they were investigating individuals promoting economic boycotts on social and traditional media. The Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office said the calls sought to prevent a segment of the public from engaging in economic activity, citing potential violations of ‘laws against hate speech and inciting public hostility.'” (04/03/25)
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2025-04-03/turkish-police-detain-11-over-opposition-led-economic-boycott
Source: SFGate
“A Trump administration official said Thursday the United States is in talks with conflict-plagued Congo on developing its mineral resources under a deal that the Congolese president has said could help make his country safer. U.S. President Donald Trump’s senior advisor for Africa, Massad Boulos, did not provide details of the potential deal following talks with Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi in Kinshasa, but he said it could involve ‘multi-billion-dollar investments’. ‘You have heard about a minerals agreement. We have reviewed the Congo’s proposal,’ Boulos said. ‘I am pleased to announce that the president and I have agreed on a path forward for its development.’ American companies would be ‘operating transparently’ and ‘would stimulate local economies’. Congo is the world’s largest producer of cobalt, a mineral used to make lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and smartphones. It also has substantial gold, diamond and copper reserves.” (04/03/25)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/us-is-negotiating-a-minerals-deals-with-20257083.php
Source: The UnPopulist
“Trump Wants to Deny Legal Representation to Opponents He Targets: A Conversation with Walter Olson.” (04/02/25)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/trump-wants-to-deny-legal-representation
Source: Foreign Policy
by Calder Walton
“The Signal scandal that engulfed Washington last week constitutes a major breach of US national security. To say that it was an egregious error to invite a national security reporter into deliberations of a National Security Council (NSC) group discussing US strikes on foreign soil is an understatement, though acknowledging it as such is not something that the Trump administration has yet managed to do. In fact, it is much worse than a mistake: it has clear costs for national security and counterintelligence. … But this is not the first time that senior White House officials have accidentally disclosed classified information to US journalists. From a historical perspective, accidental release of classified information is, as the military like to say, Situation Normal All F*cked Up (SNAFU).”
https://archive.is/8xSDU
Source: The Watch
by Radley Balko
“The Louisiana senator and physician could have stopped the world’s worst antivaxer from taking over the regulation of vaccines. He didn’t. And now we’re paying for it.” (04/02/25)
https://radleybalko.substack.com/p/profiles-in-poltroonery-senator-bill
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
“Colombian police said Wednesday they had [stolen] nearly 49 tonnes of tin and coltan, a mineral used in smartphones, that had been illicitly extracted by leftist rebels and readied for shipment to China.
They valued the [theft], one of the biggest of illegally mined coltan in Colombia in years, at US$1.2 million. The police said the minerals, which are mined together, were extracted by dissident members of the now-defunct rebel Farc army in the jungle near the Venezuelan border.” (04/03/25)
https://archive.is/jMw5O
